Seventh Week

7th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday, Year I

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A wise person is someone who has everything figured out, and a source of advice for making good decisions. Sirach in today’s First Reading reminds us that wisdom itself comes from God, and it abounds throughout creation to help us to make good decisions. The Lord didn’t just create everything with intelligence; something can have an ingenious design and function, yet be horrible in its uses. The Lord created things with wisdom: not just designed well, but reflecting a good purpose.

The Lord encourages us not only to use things correctly, but wisely. Wisdom is drawing from the Lord’s “blueprint” in order to be, to make, or to do something in harmony with his greater purpose. Sirach today teaches that the Lord lavishes wisdom upon his friends. Being at odds with the Lord is foolish, and the foolish close themselves off from wisdom.

The Lord’s friends have an edge: Jesus Christ is not only wise, but the Wisdom of God, and the Holy Spirit still pours out wisdom on those who seek it. Let’s ask Our Lord today to reconnect us with his wise blueprint for creation.

Readings: Sirach 1:1–10; Psalm 93:1–2, 5; Mark 9:14–29. See also 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Monday, Year II and 18th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday.

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

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In today’s First Reading we’re reminded of one characteristic of holiness, in imitation of the Lord, that boils down into not let anger take hold of the heart. The teaching is framed in the command of the Lord to be holy in imitation of him. The Lord has something to teach us, even in the Old Testament, way before the Incarnation, of how to be holy. He doesn’t say not to get angry. Anger is an emotion you cannot control. He says not to let the anger into your heart. Holiness is not letting something upsetting seep into your heart and, therefore, into your love for the person who is upsetting you. If you need to tell someone that they’ve acted wrongly it should be in a spirit of fraternal correction. Fraternal correction is helping your brother or sister see the wrong of something they’ve done for their good. Grudges and a desire for revenge are a sign that you have let something upsetting creep into your heart and taint your love toward the person responsible.

In today’s Second Reading Paul reminds us that hatred not only seeks destruction and harm to the person we hate, but brings destruction upon us too. God dwells in us as long as we remain in communion with him through living a holy life. In that way we are his temples. Paul warns those who would destroy these temples out of envy or resentment that if they have God within them such actions will drive him out of their heart. The glossary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines anger as “An emotion which is not in itself wrong, but which, when it is not controlled by reason or hardens into resentment and hate, becomes one of the seven capital sins.” A capital sin is a mortal sin: that means spiritual death. How many movies and television programs have depicted two bitter enemies glaring at each other with disgust and saying, “I’ll see you in Hell!” That thought should chill us to the bone: it is a lose-lose situation.

In a world that’s often focused on vendettas, avenging wrongs, trampled rights, and payback, Our Lord reminds us today of what has been a trademark of Christianity throughout the centuries: turning the other cheek. Meekness is often considered weakness, but it actually involves a very virtuous effort to not strike, or even dislike, the one who’s struck you, to give your time and possessions when someone doesn’t have a right to them, or to go out of your way beyond what any reasonable person would expect.

Our Lord has set the standard. How many blows did he receive? Being God, he didn’t have to sacrifice himself for our salvation. When Adam and Eve sinned God could have left us to the mess they’d made of our lives, just as he could every time we sin and continue to sin. With all that baggage anything we ask, or sometimes demand, of Our Lord is something he is under no obligation whatsoever to to fulfill. And yet he does and continues to do so.

We often focus on the receiving end of the slights and offenses that he describes in today’s Gospel, but what he also teaches, through example, is how we should not be on the giving end of them either. Even today we have an eloquent testimony in so many Christians suffering persecution and death. When evil stares us in the face, not some nebulous force or Hollywood B movie caricature, but real evil done by real people and to real people, we must combat it for the sake of others, but we must not lose our concern for the people who are on that path to misery and failure by their misdeeds.

That is the sign of genuine love, a perfect love, like our Heavenly Father’s love. It’s not a love conditioned by the love we expect in return or have received; otherwise we’d only care about those who care for us. That is the secret to overcoming the damage any lack of love on the part of others may have caused in our lives. Love can triumph if we let it. Society, a difficult family situation, an evil done to us can only conquer our love if we let it.

Let’s love one another as Our Lord loves us. It makes so many problems fade away.

Readings: Leviticus 19:1–2, 17–18; Psalm 103:1–4, 8, 10, 12–13; 1 Corinthians 3:16–23; Matthew 5:38–48. See also 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Tuesday, Year II, 23rd Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday, 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday, and 1st Week of Lent, Saturday.

7th Week of Ordinary Time, Saturday, Year II

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At the beginning of today’s First Reading James tackles how we should face suffering, illness, and good times: prayer. Prayer is not just for when we’re down; our prayer simply changes based on our circumstances. In good times we praise God, the source of all blessings. In times of suffering, we pray for strength to endure our trials and for healing. However, we don’t just pray for ourselves; our prayer in time of suffering is very powerful, which is why the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick (alluded to in this passage), when administered, is a consecration of its recipient’s sufferings for the spiritual benefit of others, as well as a moment when the whole Church commends him or her to the Lord. Even if physical healing does not result, the afflicted person receives spiritual healing.

James also reminds us of the effectiveness of a righteous man’s prayer. The secret to effective prayer is to seek God’s will, to ask that it be done and to collaborate in its accomplishment. Elijah proclaimed a drought at the Lord’s command to punish Israel for its sins, and, when the Lord willed it, summoned the rain to end the drought. It wasn’t just his agenda. It is through this union of wills that we are able to seek out those who stray from the truth and sin so that they too can be spared spiritual death.

Whether physically healthy or not, spiritual health is the most important and we must strive to ensure everyone’s spiritual health. Let’s offer up our sufferings today and help anyone spiritually ill to be restored to health through our prayers, the sacraments, and a holy life.

Readings: James 5:13–20; Psalm 141:1–3, 8; Mark 10:13–16. See also 19th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.

7th Week of Ordinary Time, Friday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading James encourages the first Christians not to complain about each other, using the prophets and Job as examples to follow and warning them that if one party goes on trial seeking justice, both parties go on trial before the just Judge. Job and the prophets may seem to have complained at times about the situation in which they lived, but the true cause for their glory was that they suffered for the sake of truth.

Job suffered one tragedy after the other in his life, but other than asking why and arguing with his friends about whether it was God’s punishment for something he’d done (it wasn’t), Job never blamed God or denounced him for the evil he had suffered. Prophets almost invariably clashed with the political authorities of their time, since they’d been sent by the Lord with an unwelcome message, but they didn’t quit in the face of injustice or hardship.

When you are suffering, when times are difficult, remember that perseverance is precious in the eyes of God, and that is more important than anything your neighbor may have done to you.

Readings: James 5:9–12; Psalm 103:1–4, 8–9, 11–12; Mark 10:1–12. See also 19th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday and 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B.

7th Week of Ordinary Time, Thursday, Year II

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If Our Lord taught us to store our treasure in Heaven where rust and moth do not corrupt (see Matthew 6:19-21), James in today’s First Reading makes a call to conversion for the rich by describing the darker side of the coin: the consequences of putting treasures over people and not storing up the treasure that really matters, the “treasure” described in today’s Gospel of love and concern for others. For those who put wealth first, all their fine clothes and things will decay and vanish, and their real “retirement” account will be the outcry of all the people they’d wronged in the path to earthly wealth, an outcry that will be heard by the Lord.

The social doctrine of the Church describes the importance of everyone receiving what they need to live and grow as the universal destination of goods: “‘…The earth, by reason of its fruitfulness and its capacity to satisfy human needs, is God’s first gift for the sustenance of human life’ (Centesimus Annus, 31). The human person cannot do without the material goods that correspond to his primary needs and constitute the basic conditions for his existence; these goods are absolutely indispensable if he is to feed himself, grow, communicate, associate with others, and attain the highest purposes to which he is called. The universal right to use the goods of the earth is based on the principle of the universal destination of goods. Each person must have access to the level of well-being necessary for his full development…” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 171-172).

Let’s do an audit today of our time, treasure, and talent, and see how we can invest them not only for our spiritual growth, but for the growth and well-being of others as well.

Readings: James 5:1–6; Psalm 49:14–20; Mark 9:41–50.